Following Wednesday’s supreme court ruling that the terms ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the Equalities Act 2010 will now only refer to sex assigned at birth, the group Oxford for Trans Rights will be holding a protest in Oxford city centre next weekend to campaign for trans rights in the face of rising transphobia and right-wing ‘gender critical’ rhetoric.
Trans people and their allies from all walks of life have come together across the country to condemn the ruling, and Sunday’s event will be an opportunity to show the city that we will not be silenced.
The attempt to eliminate trans people from public life targets a vulnerable minority, putting them at risk of even greater harassment and state-sanctioned violence. Although right-wing campaigners have described the recent ruling as a ‘victory for women’, it will negatively affect all women and gender minorities in the UK, most especially trans women who are already subject to disproportionate levels of violence and abuse.
The demonisation of trans people as scapegoats is a despicable tactic of the far-right and must be challenged immediately and emphatically: we demand trans liberation NOW. This is a fundamentally intersectional mission as transphobia cannot be fought without acknowledging the struggles against systemic racism, patriarchy, and the genocide in Palestine.
The protest next Sunday will start at Bonn Square at 11am and march to Oxford Crown Court, with an option to decompress afterwards at the Community Day for Palestine at Manzil Way Gardens. We are committed to accessibility and will publish a set of accessibility information on our website and social media later in the week.
